Author: ChristineByer

Americans love this cleanser yet it does nothing good for their skin. Dermatologists constantly prescribe it to their clients. What gives? Finally, words that describe why I HATE IT!!!

I found this article about Cetaphil:

Why the popular cleanser isn’t doing your skin any favors

Cetaphil probably has the best PR of any facial soap. Beauty magazines gush over it as a no-frills $8 must-have. Dermatologists love to recommend it as a mild and non-irritating facial cleanser for two reasons: it doesn’t contain fragranceand, more tellingly, because MDs have a big Pharma love affair with the manufacturer, Galderma, the offspring of Nestlé and L’Oréal, which also makes acne drugs like Differin.

And yet there’s nothing healthy about this face-washing prescription.

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser contains just eight ingredients: water, cetyl alcohol, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate, stearyl alcohol, methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben.
All but the water are chemically manufactured (let’s hope), and propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate, and the three parabens have a seat on the dirty dozen, a list of cosmetic ingredients to avoid as potentially toxic.

One look at the label and you’ve got to go “Wait a minute! What?”says Spirit Demerson, who analyzes skin-care ingredients for Spirit Beauty Lounge, her online natural beauty store. “Cetaphil does not contain even one single beneficial ingredient and what it does contain is the equivalent of toxic sludge. Whether you think it’s keeping your skin healthy or not, it is absorbed into your bloodstream and research has proven almost all of the few ingredients in it are carcinogenic. I know it’s hard to imagine that washing your face can give you cancer but it’s worth consideration.”

The ingredients in this popular Gentle Skin Cleanser don’t support the name
Julia March, a top NYC facialist, says that so many New Yorkers believe that Cetaphil is healthy, they tend ignore the ingredients completely. “Cetyl alcohol, an emollient used in many cosmetics, is essentially a wax,” says March. “Propylene glycol is a common humectant (meaning it brings moisture from the air to the skin), but it also enhances product and chemical penetration into the skin and blood stream. Sodium lauryl sulfate is a foaming agent, and skin and eye irritant, that disturbs the healthy lipid barrier of the skin, and parabens are a group of preservatives being phased out for potential health risks.”

Given that there’s actually nothing clean about this cleanser, it’s rather amazing that millions of women think their skin will freak out if they use anything else. “It may not irritate skin very much, but it probably won’t help it much either,” says Nicole Yih, Assistant Spa Director at the Mandarin Oriental New York. That’s because there’s nothing in Cetaphil that nurtures skin. No antioxidants that help fight free radical damage; not a dribble of omega-rich plant seed oils that fortify the skin barrier; and not a drop of skin-calming botanicals.
A cleanser that you use twice a day should be judged on what it gives your skin. Consider this your new cleanser criterion. —Melisse Gelula

High powered lasers, deep peels, IPL and Retin A and other aggressive skin treatments can cause skin inflammaging. This means they can actually AGE the skin MORE in the long run than noninvasive treatments.

The term ‘inflammaging’ is changing the face of skincare. ‘Inflammaging’ describes skin aging induced by chronic (persistent) inflammation. An example of inflammaging is using products such as Retin A and Retinoids daily that cause long term inflammation on the skin. After years of use, some Retin A users start to see diminishing results and lackluster looking skin.

Other harsh, invasive treatments such as high powered lasers at the dermatologist’s office (IPL, Yag, Erbium, etc.) can also cause a hardening or scarring of the skin. This is so prevalent that many plastic surgeons refuse to work on clients who have had previous repeated laser treatments. The surgeons know that a facelift would not “lay properly” because the skin is hardened or scarred due to inflammaging from the repeated laser work.

In my practice, I use gentle, no-downtime treatments that I know the skin loves. I gently coax the skin into a healthier state through non ablative (non-cutting or damaging) microcurrent, LED light and other progressive rather than aggressive treatments. The professional products I use are full of antinflammatory and antioxidant ingredients your skin loves. After a treatment, you can be sure your skin will look better than it did when you walked in. That’s my promise!

If you want to avoid inflammaging your skin but still want supple, lifted and hydrated skin, contact me for relaxing yet effective treatments. Call or text now to book an appointment (317) 891-5424 or book online.

Indy Esthetician and Microcurrent Pro Update: Ok, I’m such a goof! I’ve been doing lots of Dot Matrix Radio Frequency treatments to myself and although my skin was looking better, it looked a bit lackluster.

I recently read an article that said the average American diet, no matter how healthy, was found to be deficient in vitamin B complex, C, D and magnesium. A bell rang in my head saying “you forgot your vitamin C!” And it’s true, I had run out of my Image Hydrating Anti Aging Serum (a best seller that packs in THREE types of highly absorbable and effective vitamin C).

I put it on that night and viola! The next morning my wattle was back UP there and the rest of my skin, especially my cheek area (where we start to lose volume at my, eh hum, “advanced” age of 45) was fuller and less dry looking. If you don’t have some form of vitamin C in your skincare routine (I’m talking to you, Nerium users) RUN, don’t walk to buy Image’s Vital C Serum, Creme or Intense Creme. You WILL notice a difference right away.

Lesson learned: Vitamin C plays a HUGE role in collagen synthesis. Without it, your skin will not thrive!!!